AN EVENING ON THE STAGE to Honor San Francisco Opera's Matthew Shilvock

San Francisco Opera Guild’s An Evening on the Stage gala dinner honors San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock for his inspiring leadership and artistic vision on Tuesday, November 17 at the War Memorial Opera House. Shilvock will receive The Crescendo Award, bestowed by the Guild upon individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary support to the Guild and San Francisco Opera.

Now in its thirteenth year, the holiday season black-tie benefit presented by San Francisco Opera Guild offers over 250 guests the opportunity to dine on the historic War Memorial Opera House stage, where since 1932 operatic legends like Luciano Pavarotti, Leontyne Price and Renée Fleming have performed. The evening’s décor will include set pieces from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. The San Francisco Opera production of the popular comedy, which begins a ten-performance run on October 31, is set in an American 18th-century manor house.

Co-chaired by Courtney Labe and Jennifer Bienaimé, An Evening on the Stage includes a cocktail reception in the War Memorial Opera House foyer, followed by dinner, musical performances and dancing on the Opera House stage. Musical guests include mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack performing selections from her debut solo album, Sur, featuring songs by Astor Piazzola, arranged by Juan Pablo Jofre, who previously appeared in San Francisco Opera’s In Song: Daniela Mack. Mack will be accompanied by bandoneón player Jofre, pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg and members of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. The San Francisco Opera Guild Opera Scouts will also sing for the attendees. Event stylist and frequent Opera Ball designer J. Riccardo Benavides creates the décor for the evening, and McCalls Catering & Events crafts a gourmet dinner. Vybe Society Entertainment will be the band for the dance floor.

Co-Chair Courtney Labe said, “It is a true honor to co-chair San Francisco Opera Guild’s signature event, An Evening on the Stage. This special evening directly supports the Guild’s award-winning music education programs, which inspire young students through the transformative power of the performing arts, building lifelong skills, including confidence, creativity and leadership.”

Co-chair Jennifer Bienaimé added. “I am absolutely thrilled to help bring magic to An Evening on the Stage on November 17. I love this event because it is intimate yet festive: a celebration of singing, music, friends and above all, we are so delighted to honor General Director Matthew Shilvock on his 11th anniversary of extraordinary leadership and creativity at San Francisco Opera.”

Previous An Evening on the Stage honorees include Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, Diane B. Wilsey, Gordon Getty, Franklin P. (“Pitch”) Johnson, Jr., Dianne and Tad Taube, Cynthia and John Gunn, Carol and Dixon Doll, The Littlefield Family, Frederica von Stade, Jake Heggie, Karen J. Kubin, Mary and Bill Poland, Nancy and Paul Pelosi, and Maria Manetti Shrem.

Tickets for An Evening on the Stage event are priced from $2,500 to $10,000 ($1,500 patron-level tickets are sold out). Proceeds support San Francisco Opera Guild’s innovative education programs that reach thousands of students in greater Bay Area schools.

An Evening on the Stage is made possible through the generous support of presenting sponsor TriplePoint Capital; event sponsor Five Star Bank; sparkling wine sponsor Scharffenberger Cellars; wine sponsor Castellucci Napa Valley; event design by J. Riccardo Benavides Event Styling; catering by McCalls Catering & Events; invitation by Cheree Berry Paper; and media sponsors Haute Living San Francisco and Nob Hill Gazette. Special thanks to Drew Altizer Photography, Soirée Valet and Vybe Society Entertainment.

MATTHEW SHILVOCK

Matthew Shilvock is San Francisco Opera’s Tad and Dianne Taube General Director. He became the Company’s seventh general director in August 2016, following in the footsteps of his mentor David Gockley. This past August, the Board of Directors of San Francisco Opera Association extended Shilvock’s tenure for a third term through 2030–31, building on a dynamic period for the Company that has seen the appointment of Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim, the Company’s celebration of its historic 2022–23 Centennial Season, and a new era of artistic energy, community engagement, innovation, audience growth and transformational philanthropic support.

Last season—Shilvock’s tenth season as general director and twentieth overall with the Company—introduced a bold, new San Francisco Opera-commissioned work into the repertory, Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s The Monkey King (2025). Based on one of China’s literary classics, the opera sold-out its entire run before opening night, attracting tremendous philanthropic support and critical acclaim. The Monkey King continued Shilvock’s ambitious commissioning program, which has included the world premiere of John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra (2022), Bay Area premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank’s El último sueño de Frida y Diego (2023) and U.S. premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence (2024). Under Shilvock, San Francisco Opera has commissioned or been a part of the co-commissioning consortium for eight new works to date, including operas by Jake Heggie (It’s A Wonderful Life), Mason Bates (The evolution of Steve Jobs), Rhiannon Giddens (Omar) and Missy Mazzoli’s The Galloping Cure, which receives its U.S. premiere in Fall 2027.

Over the last decade, the Company has invested in building new core repertory productions, reflecting Shilvock’s commitment to keeping the theatrical arts a flourishing part of the Bay Area’s cultural landscape. The past season unveiled a new San Francisco Opera production of Parsifal, part of Eun Sun Kim’s Wagner and Verdi initiative, leading to her first Ring cycle in Summer 2028. Appointed by Shilvock as the Company’s fourth music director in 2019, Kim began her music directorship in 2021, and her contract was recently extended through the 2030–31 Season.

Under Shilvock’s direction, the Company’s work on stage and in the community has led to multi-year growth trends in ticket buyers and donors. The Dolby Family’s Opera for the Bay ticket program has sold nearly 30,000 $10 tickets since 2022, with 77% of purchasers brand new to the Company. Since the Centennial Season, the number of six- and seven-figure annual donors has increased from 43 to 74, and San Francisco Opera’s endowment is the largest of any American Opera Company at over $300 million. The current 2026–27 Season sees another increase in the number of subscribers, including an increase of 13% in full subscribers.

More on War Memorial Opera House

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Manon

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